Christian Bateman
Christian Bateman (1986–2019; also known as Orion), appearing as a recurring character in Season 5 of Criminal Case, was a suspect in the murder investigations of two people in Money Mile before being convicted for the murder of artist Meera Kat in The Art of Murder (Case #12 of The Conspiracy). After being released from prison, he became a suspect in the murder investigations of three more people in The Conspiracy. He then appeared with his fellow members of Ad Astra as a single set of quasi-suspects in Breaking News (Case #54 of The Conspiracy). He also made a minor appearance in Dearly Departured (Case #49 of The Conspiracy) and a video appearance in To Eternity and Beyond (Case #56 of The Conspiracy). In Reap What You Sow (Case #57 of The Conspiracy), he was found murdered. Profile Christian was a 32-year-old now-former venture capitalist with green eyes and black hair. In his first suspect appearance, he wore a midnight blue pinstriped suit over a white collared shirt with a blue tie. He also wore a tie pin and a red handkerchief in his pocket. It is known that Christian drank Bendrick's gin, used Crème de la Terre and had manicures. In his second suspect appearance, it is discovered that he had plastic surgery and drank Pink Thongs. In his third suspect appearance, it is revealed that he ate chili peppers, took antidepressants and owned a crocodile skin wallet. In his fourth suspect appearance, he wore a white polo shirt with a green dolphin emblem, a blue sweater around his neck, blue pants, and brown shoes. It is noted that he worked out, had been to Provence, ate figs and shrimp cocktails and owned a black cat. In his fifth suspect appearance, it is learned that he knew explosives, bit his nails and drank Bordeaux wine. In his sixth suspect appearance, it is determined that he used Mr Biceps, had watched Transmutators 9 and drank flat whites. Events of Criminal Case Stonewalled Christian became a suspect after he reported finding the victim's body behind a wall in his penthouse apartment. After ranting about how the discovery of the body would impact his finances, Jones asked him about the victim, revealing that the remains belonged to Stella Ziarati. Upon hearing this, Christian displayed a shocked demeanor and told Jones and the player that Stella used to live in his apartment before he moved in. Christian was spoken to again about Früber, the victim's profitless app that he had invested in. He told them that Stella had reassured him that the app would make him a handsome profit, but was never rewarded for the millions that he had invested in her project. He later reported a break-in at his apartment to Jones and the player. Christian was found to be innocent after the team incarcerated Guadalupe del Prado for Stella's murder. Hot Mess Christian became a suspect again after Jones and the player found his VIP card for The Maneater, the strip club the victim worked at. He assured the pair that he only went to the club because some of his clients wanted to, and he didn't indulge in the entertainment. He then asked them to end their talk of tasteless spectacles. Christian was spoken to again about the victim's multiple calls to him. He revealed that Vince had wanted him to invest in a strip club that he was planning on opening. When he turned him down, the victim repeatedly harassed him to get an investment. Christian was found to be innocent again after the team incarcerated Nicolette Butler for Vince's murder. The Art of Murder Christian became a suspect for the third time after Gloria and the player found a poster with him and the victim on it. He said that he didn't recognize her name, but when it was brought up that he went to the Transmutators 9 premiere with her, he said that his secretary set up the appointment and that, since he was walking with a popular artist, it impressed his clients. He then left to go talk to a client. Christian was spoken to again about his audio files that revealed that he wanted to torture women. He said that he was under pressure and that it was just a way to let off steam. He proceeded to tell the team that they should understand the high-pressure world of finance, even though they earned a lot less money than him. In the end, Christian was incriminated for the murder. Upon breaking down and admitting to the murder, Christian stated that he fell in love with Meera when they went to the red carpet as dates. When he confessed, however, she merely mocked him. Finally snapping after "denying him his last chance of feeling love", he went to see her set up her stage for her performance, knocked her out with a wrench, forced her into the cage, and dropped her into the lava when she woke up, taking pleasure at her screams of pain. Judge Powell sentenced him to life in prison, pending psychiatric evaluation. Christian was spoken to again in prison after they found his business card in Tony Marconi's bag. He said that he gave his cards to lots of people and that all he knew about Marconi was that he liked entertainment and ran a hush-hush business in The Greens. Like a Pig to the Slaughter After arresting Sheriff Roy Loukas' killer, the team found out that Christian was Orion - one of the five members of the original Ad Astra. However, after talking to Warden Mallory Banks at Grimsborough Prison, they learned that Christian was released a few days prior after some psychiatrists determined he was "under extreme psychological duress" when he killed Meera and was thus not responsible for his actions. Also, Mallory explained that she had no idea about Christian's whereabouts then. Later, however, Ramirez discovered that Christian's family owned a vineyard in Spring Fields after he had done some more digging. The team then quickly headed there to catch Christian again. In Vino Veritas Christian became a suspect once again after Jones and the player found him at the scene of the crime. He explained that he was at the villa to recuperate from his experience in prison and later denied any involvement in Ad Astra. He then said that he knew nothing about the murder, questioning why Jones was upset when it was his mother who had been killed. Christian was spoken to again about his creepy doll of his mother. He revealed that his mother had never visited him in jail, but when he was released, she treated him like a successful son again, showing him off to her friends. He admitted that he was in a rage with his mother, and while he had pictured how his mother had been murdered, he had not been the one to kill her. Christian was found to be innocent after the team incarcerated Jacinta Linares for Cora's murder. He was later interrogated by Jones and the player about Plan Supernova, something he had mentioned in a dictaphone recording concerning Ad Astra. He scoffed at the team and refused to tell them anything, taunting them with his ability to get himself out of prison. He then ordered the team to leave his property. To Kingdom Come Christian was once again suspected of murder after finding his to-go cup near the site of the explosion that killed Mia. When Gloria and the player asked him if the explosion was orchestrated by Ad Astra to dispose of them, Christian said that he would have already killed them if he wanted them dead. After saying that killing was only for sociopaths, Christian then said that Mia had bumped into him in line in the café, prompting the team to investigate there. The team later found out that Christian had hired a private investigator to follow them. Christian said that he had them followed as he was a man of leisure bored with his life. He then admitted to even rigging the doors with small explosives to scare the household staff out of boredom. He then told the team to leave unless they had real charges pressed against him or he would remove them himself. Christian was found to be innocent after the team incarcerated Brock Perry for Mia's murder. During the arrest, Brock admitted that some people from the "nearby vineyard" had asked him to rig the player's car with a bomb, implying that Christian had a hand in the murder. Without enough evidence however, the team could not pursue the lead. After the trial, mechanic Maylin Park went to the police to file a restraining order against Christian. They then found footage of a drunken Christian flirting with Maylin in the café, slipping up that Ad Astra's "Plan Supernova" involved the meteorite. When the team interrogated him, Christian denied the team's findings, claiming that he was just drunkenly rambling. Dearly Departured After arresting Dolores Zamora's killer, Jones and the player (per Mandy Pregodich) discovered that Mayor Joe Warren was at Christian's vineyard, further strengthening their theory that Warren was one of the Ad Astrans. Amir and the player then spied on their conversation, where Joe told Christian that they needed to wait before they could implement Plan Supernova, although they did not know why there was a delay. Playing Dead Christian became a suspect yet again after Gloria and the player found the flower bouquet he had given to the victim. He told the team that he had been friends with Savannah since university and that he wanted to visit the studio to wish her good luck before her interview. When Gloria said that Savannah had denied knowing Christian in a previous investigation, Christian said that they had kept their friendship secret in order to maintain Savannah's public image. Christian was spoken to again about the footage in victim's laptop in which he had an argument with the victim. When asked about it, he brushed off the argument as a tiff between friends, claiming that he had been particularly stressed when they argued. He then told the team that he did not kill Savannah. Christian was found to be innocent again after the team incarcerated Clarisse Gold for Savannah's murder. Breaking News After arresting Louis Leroux's killer, Christian broke Ad Astra members Rozetta Pierre and Julia Brine out of Grimsborough State Penitentiary alongside fellow Ad Astra member Joe Warren. During the escape, Christian was confronted by prisoner Willie Redfern. Christian disabled Willie using his cryokinesis and locked him in a storage cabinet. Running Scared After arresting Jake Hayes' killer, the team discovered that Christian had bought the getaway van they used during the kidnapping of Jake and Carter Hayes from Troy Cassidy. While arranging the transaction, Christian also convinced Troy to join them and drive the getaway van during the whole kidnapping operation. To Eternity and Beyond Christian was recorded by Summer Klein, a botany student, in the Newmark gardens while having an argument with his friend Eoin Cafferey. During the argument, in which Eoin made clear that he did not want to get involved with Christian since he was an outlaw, Christian lost his temper and froze him with his ice superpower, leaving him with minor injuries. Later, Cathy discovered, from Eoin's testimony, that Christian had recently purchased a helicopter to escape by air with his fellow Ad Astrans. Murder details Christian's body was found with a dart in his chest and frothing at the mouth next to his helicopter. Martine determined that Christian had been shot with M99, an animal tranquilizer that was lethal to humans and would have caused Christian to die almost instantaneously. Since Christian had been shot in the middle of his heart, Martine concluded that the killer was a sharpshooter. At the subway, Jones and the player found a tranquilizer gun hidden in a cleaning cart. Rita identified the gun as the murder weapon and revealed that the killer must have bought the gun through Modern Hunter magazine. This allowed Rita to conclude that the killer read Modern Hunter. Relationship with suspects Christian's physical and mental state had severely deteriorated by the time he died. Christian had bribed the lawyer that got him out of prison, Trudy Lively, into procuring fake passports for Ad Astra's escape. During his confrontation with Eoin before his death, he told Eoin that his ice powers came from a serum. Christian had pitched his helicopter escape idea to the rest of the Ad Astrans, although Rozetta was convinced that they needed to lay low for another week before they could escape. Christian pushed through with the plan anyway so Rozetta followed him and tried to stop him from escaping. Warren got annoyed with Christian's constantly competitively attitude, while Christian regularly insulted Julia, who had a deep liking for him. Killer and motives The killer turned out to be Warren. Upon admitting to the murder, Warren admitted that after they first used their superpowers, they found that the serum was physically hurting them. However, Christian refused to stop using his powers, leading to his deteriorated physical and mental state. When Rozetta and Warren then went to the helipad to stop Christian from escaping, they found him in excruciating pain, begging them to put him out of his misery. Warren then shot Christian in the heart with a tranquilizer gun. In a protected cell, Judge Powell sentenced him to life imprisonment for the murder and for his crimes as an Ad Astra member. Trivia *Christian is most likely based on Patrick Bateman from the 1991 novel American Psycho. Furthermore, his first name may been derived from Christian Bale, who portrayed the character in the 2000 film adaption of American Psycho. *Christian is one of the characters to physically appear in four districts of The Conspiracy. *Christian is one of the characters to appear as a suspect in six cases. **He is also one of the characters to appear as a suspect in two consecutive cases in The Conspiracy. *Christian is one of the killers who are interrogated once more during the Additional Investigation. *Christian is one of the characters to become a suspect, killer, and victim. **He is also one of the characters to appear as a suspect, quasi-suspect, killer, and victim. *Christian is one of the characters who animate (or move) during at least one cutscene in the game. Case appearances Gallery CBatemanConspiracy.png|Christian, as he appeared in Stonewalled (Case #8 of The Conspiracy), Hot Mess (Case #11 of The Conspiracy) and The Art of Murder (Case #12 of The Conspiracy). CBatemanConspiracyC278.png|Christian, as he appeared in In Vino Veritas (Case #47 of The Conspiracy). CBatemanConspiracyC279.png|Christian, as he appeared in To Kingdom Come (Case #48 of The Conspiracy) and Playing Dead (Case #53 of The Conspiracy). CBatemanConspiracyC280.png|Christian, as he appeared in Dearly Departured (Case #49 of The Conspiracy). CBatemanConspiracyC285.png|Christian, as he appeared in Breaking News (Case #54 of The Conspiracy). CBatemanConspiracyC287.png|Christian, as he appeared in To Eternity and Beyond (Case #56 of The Conspiracy). CBatemanConspiracyC243-2.png|Christian, wearing the prison uniform. CBatemanConspiracyA.png|Christian, sentenced to life in prison pending psychiatric evaluation for the murder of Meera Kat. ChristianInJail.png|Ditto. Christian Bateman Body.png|Christian's body. JoeInJail.png|Joe Warren, Christian's late killer. CBatemanVictim.png|Cora Bateman, Christian's late mother. CBatemanConspiracyMC239.jpg OG_SUS_511_602.jpg OG_SUS_512_601.jpg CBatemanC278Mugshot.png CBatemanC279Mugshot.png CBatemanC284Mugshot.jpg Navigation Category:Criminal Case Category:Characters Category:Recurring characters Category:Suspects Category:Victims Category:Killers Category:Quasi-suspects Category:Ad Astra members